real life observations about the governance in philippines?
Answers
Explanation:
A. The Context of and Imperatives for Good Governance
Good governance is essential to achieving sustainable human development. In recent years,
governments worldwide have therefore sought to promote sound development management that is
founded on good and honest public administration. This relatively new framework in exercising public
authority and meeting development requirements presents very encouraging results, especially for
nations similar to the Philippines, which have tinkered with various models and approaches that produced
uneven results and generally fell short of expectations. Administrative reform was never a cure-all for the
Philippines, despite the fact that every political administration included civil service reform in its
government agenda. After all that has been said and done to address the issues of government
efficiency, effectiveness, and economy in the Philippines, the failure to put in place the elements of good
governance in the change process made it difficult to achieve the desired outcomes.
The Integrated Reorganization Plan (IRP) of 1972, under President Marcos, promised the most
extensive and wrenching effort at administrative reform in the country’s history. The IRP provided for
decentralizing and reducing the bureaucracy, and standardizing departmental organization. The IRP also
sought to introduce structural changes and reforms to strengthen the merit system as well as
professionalize the civil service system. In retrospect, one could not really have expected the landmark
innovations of the IRP to take root, since they unfolded in an environment of authoritarianism and
oppression, where the interests of a few rich and powerful individuals reigned over the welfare of the
people.
The IRP was the handiwork of a few trusted technocrats of President Marcos, and it was a
framework that the civil service system at that time had to accept. The stakeholders, who were to be
affected by the program, were not involved. For that reason, a sense of ownership of and popular support
for the program could never have been achieved, especially when implementation faltered because erring
political leaders and their cohorts increasingly undermined the system and violated set standards and
procedures. The bureaucracy under Marcos became more subservient than at any other time in
Philippine history (Endriga 2001). Under the guise of pursuing the objectives of nation building and
institutional strengthening, Marcos purged thousands of government employees and restructured the
Government as he deemed fit. The Government was shielded from public scrutiny and criticism. To make
matters worse, most, if not all, of these irresponsible acts were perpetuated, tolerated, and unpunished.
Under President Aquino, another wave of administrative reforms was introduced. Aside from
restoring democratic institutions and ratifying the new Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,
guidelines for promoting public participation and private initiative in state affairs were established. Apart
from fiscal discipline, decentralization, accountability, and efficiency of frontline services were likewise
pursued. Accountability institutions, such as the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Audit
(COA), and Tanodbayan (an independent office of the ombudsman), which were established during the
Marcos era, were given expanded powers under the new Constitution. Aquino also created the
Presidential Committee on Public Ethics and Accountability and the Presidential Commission on Good
Government, to restore government integrity and public confidence. Civil society organizations became
more visible in government decision making and program implementation.
The performance record of these initiatives, however, fell short of their promise. Aiming to
streamline the bureaucracy, thousands of civil servants were removed from their positions during the
Aquino administration. Later, however, most vacancies were filled by new appointees (many of them from
the private sector) who did not enter through the traditional career system. This led to the tradition of
creating new positions to accommodate political appointees.
Reorganization under Aquino took place with minimal participation of those affected.
Paradoxically, while layoffs were justified in the name of downsizing the bloated Government, the number
of civil servants and political appointees increased considerably. The proliferation of political appointees
blurred the merit and career system of the civil service and hindered, in many instances, the continuity
and stability of policies and programs. The number of public agencies and offices also grew, resulting in
an extended and fragmented government structure.
There were no major civil service reform efforts during the presidential tenures of Ramos and
Estrada. The Ramos administration nonetheless sought to give life to the concept of new public